Top 5 tips if you are considering to start your digital marketing career

So you probably have heard that there is a global digital skills gap and you may have noticed that this increased demand in digital jobs is now matched by an increased demand for options to learn digital marketing.

As a marketer with over 20 years of experience, I can see where you are coming from as at some point in my career I noticed that I had to upskill myself to stay relevant. I can also tell you that as someone that has always invested in continuous education I have tried many of the options available from on the job training, certifications from professional bodies, certifications from universities, courses from big brands like Google and I admit I have also fallen for those courses that claim will make you money. Based on this experience is that I want to share what I have learned along the way.

Top 5 tips to start your digital marketing career

Have a clear goal of what you want to achieve. Like with anything else in life, if you are not clear on how digital marketing should enable you to achieve your career, income or lifestyle goals it is likely that time will pass by, and you may never leverage what you learn.

Understand your very own 'why'. Yes, there is no point jumping on the first opportunity you find, invest the money and then realise that what you paid for is not meeting your expectations. To start learning, you can try something free. If you just want to add another bullet point to your CV, I guess you can go for what you would consider the most prestigious brand in your industry. However, if you are serious about your career and really want to learn digital marketing let me tell you that education without implementation is worthless, which takes me to my next point.

Understand how you want to use what you learn. The best way of learning is by actually DOING. You may know all the theory in this world, but that is of no use if you can't claim that you understand what the best based on your own experience is. To do this effectively, my best recommendation is to consider specialising in a particular area of interest. Think about what can you be really passionate about. Is it email, PPC, display, SEO, video, HTML, UX, social, blogging or content? Become the best in one of them to become more successful and don't try to wear all the hats at the same time.

Not all courses are created equally. Based on my experience, you do have to review in detail WHAT they claim you will learn and HOW you will learn. Most of the courses I have taken have been what you could call 'leadership led' or 'strategic' rather than tactical and PRACTICAL. As a result, although you can always learn, I have been left with unclear understanding on how I can actually use different elements of digital marketing either for my job or own business.

Digital marketing evolves every day. For this reason, consider choosing digital marketing education that will keep you updated on an ongoing basis and is not a one off. Times have changed and what you learned years ago or even a month ago may not longer be valid to be a successful digital marketer. Therefore if a course offers you ongoing learning, development and practical experience, it is more likely that your investment and self-development will benefit in the long-term.

So these are my top 5 tips to start your digital marketing career.

These are based on my experience of trying from the free courses to the 'famous' ones and in my conclusion the best is the one that makes you implement and gives you ongoing learning and personal development. The decision is yours if you want a serious career in digital marketing.